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null Deborah Da Costa, PhD

Scientist, RI-MUHC, 5252 de Maisonneuve site

Child Health and Human Development Program

Centre for Outcomes Research and Evaluation

Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, McGill University

Department of Medicine, Division of Clinical Epidemiology, MUHC

 

Keywords

Mental health • behavioural medicine • e-health • pregnancy/postpartum • chronic illnesses

Research Focus

My research focuses on the interplay between modifiable psychosocial and behavioural (e.g. exercise) factors and health status in various chronic illnesses and in relation to depression in populations at risk. This has laid the foundation for the knowledge-transfer phase of my program which focuses on tailoring and evaluating evidence-based e-health interventions to empower individuals with the knowledge and skills needed to optimize their health and wellness. My research activities focus on: 1) maternal and paternal mental health during the transition to parenthood - identifying predictors and developing e-health psychoeducational interventions; 2) delineating the role of behavioural and psychosocial variables on health outcomes and quality of life in patients with chronic conditions; and 3) developing and testing gender-tailored tools to help individuals initiate and sustain healthy lifestyle behaviours over the lifespan.

Selected Publications

Click on Pubmed to see my current publications list

  • Da Costa D, Danieli C, Abrahamowicz M, Dasgupta K, Sewitch M, Lowensteyn I, Zelkowitz. A Prospective Study of Postnatal Depressive Symptoms and Associated Risk Factors in First-Time Fathers. Journal of Affective Disorders 2019, 249: 371-377. PMID: 30818245.

  • Da Costa D, Zelkowitz P, Nguyen T-V, Deville-Stoetzel J-B. Mental Health Help-Seeking Patterns and Perceived Barriers for Care Among. Archives of Women’s Mental Health. 2018, 21(6):757-764. PMID: 29846799.

  • Da Costa D, Zelkowitz P, Letourneau N, Howlett A, Dennis CL, Russell B, Grover S, Lowensteyn I, Chan P, Khalifé S. HealthyDads.ca: What do Men Want in a Website Designed to Promote Emotional Wellness and Healthy Behaviors During the Transition to Parenthood? J Med Internet Res 2017, 19 (10) e325. PMID: 29021126.

  • Da Costa D, Allmann A-A, Libman E, Desormeau P, Lowensteyn I, Grover S. Prevalence and Determinants of Insomnia After a Myocardial Infarction. Psychosomatics 2017 Mar - Apr;58(2):132-140. PMID: 28104338.

  • Da Costa D, Zelkowitz P, Dasgupta K, Sewitch M, Lowensteyn I, Cruz R, Hennegan K, Khalife S. Dads Get Sad Too: Depressive Symptoms and Associated Factors in Expectant First-Time Fathers. American Journal of Men’s Health 2017,11(5):1376-1384. PMID: 26385988.